Airport restaurant accused of serving outside burger

PUNE: A flyer booked on a SpiceJet flight to Bengaluru on Friday afternoon was allegedly served a burger brought from outside and wrapped in a dirty newspaper in a first floor restaurant of the airport, punching a hole in claims of authorities about good quality of food at the facility. The flyer, Ravi Chander, from Bengaluru walked into the Port Lounge Restaurant and Bar for a quick grub. But he could not have a bite when saw the burger was brought from outside, wrapped in a dirty and old newspaper. He allegedly paid Rs319 and walked out of the restaurant. Refuting the allegation, the restaurant manager, Mukesh Kumar Singh, told TOI: “How can this be possible? We are a proper restaurant with all facilities. Why should the burger be wrapped in a newspaper? Food is served to passengers on clean plates and proper care is taken about the cooking standards and hygiene.” In sharp contrast, the disgruntled flyer, Chander, told TOI over phone, “My flight was scheduled at 3:55pm. After completing all the formalities, including the security check, I walked up to the restaurant as I was hungry. But my experience was pathetic.” Chander said, “When I ordered a vegetable burger, an attendant of the restaurant bluntly told me that it would take at least half-an-hour. After around 30 minutes, I saw the burger coming wrapped in an old dirty newspaper. It was brought from somewhere outside.” He claimed that the attendant then removed the newspaper and served the burger on a plate with some wafers. “It was utterly disgusting and I asked the attendant as to why the burger was brought from outside. He nonchalantly told me it was not available with them. The burger was not at all fresh. So, I didn’t even try to eat it. I paid Rs319 for it and walked out,” he said. Chander posted a Twitter message of his ordeal, too. “@Pune Airport I had the unfortunate experience of ordering burger in lounge. They got it wrapped in a newspaper from outside! Yuck. Billed me too,” he wrote on the social media platform. Pune resident Shikha D had a similar experience a year ago. “I had a sandwich in an outlet before boarding an early morning flight. For the next four days, I was in bed at my house — down with severe stomach infection and loose motions. If authorities cannot ensure quality checks, there is no point of opening more stalls,” she said. The authorities claimed several times in the past that they were trying to improve the food quality at the airport. The experience of Chander on and that of Shikha a year ago triggers serious posers on the claims.